Saint-Pierre-sur-Erve is a commune of Mayenne in the Pays de la Loire region, located 30 km east of Laval.
The village, which has about 150 inhabitants, developed during the Middle Ages along the road linking Laval to Le Mans, but it was already during the antiquity on a Roman road which crossed the river Erve at the level Of a ford.
Benefiting precisely from the remarkable environment (classified Natura 2000) of the valley of Erve and its landscapes composed of limestone cliffs and a singular vegetation (moorland, dry lawns), Saint-Pierre-sur-Erve has both preserved its heritage And its authenticity. The village is thus labeled "Small city of character" and constitutes an interesting stage for who visits the region.
Several sites and buildings deserve a visit to discover the built heritage of the town.
This is the case of the church of Saint-Pierre, of Romanesque style, dating for its oldest parts (the nave) of the 11th and 12th centuries. The choir has been reworked with Gothic touches and the bell-tower was added in the 15th. Several tombstones (fourteenth and eighteenth) are visible inside, where are also sheltered five protected statues of stone or terracotta, dating from the fifteenth to the eighteenth.
Nearby, it will be noted that the presbytery built in the early nineteenth century was renovated and converted into a communal gite.
Still in the area of sacred architecture, we will also be interested in the chapel of Saint-Sylvain, built in the 15th century in homage to a monk who had lived on the site as a hermit in the 6th century. The hill where the holy man and the chapel lived were the object of pilgrimages from medieval times, and there are still inscriptions of the eighteenth century on the walls.
In the vicinity of the small town, but still on the municipal territory, to see also, the pedestrian bridge connecting the hamlets of Erve and the Crosses. A first bridge was built in the 12th century, but the current one dates from the 17th century and was revised and consolidated in the 19th century. Below, there is also a traditional washhouse of the 19th century.
The village also has two old manors. The manor of the Auvers, on the one hand, built in the 14th or 15th for its oldest parts. It was a feudal residence. Nowadays, there remains a tower and a square pavilion, pierced by an entrance portico (15th), giving access to a courtyard at the bottom of which rises the house (which has been reworked).
As for the Manor of the Pines, partly protected, it dates from the 15th and 16th centuries.
Both are private.
Another remarkable piece of heritage is the Gô mill, dating from the 18th century, which is being carefully restored under the impetus of an association. Animations and visits are regularly organized. Information on +33 2 43 90 25 73.
In a totally different way, the private museum of miniatures houses a collection of doll houses, interior scenes and cuddly toys gathered during 40 years of travels in the world. Visit only by appointment. Please call +33 2 43 91 77 69.
For the lovers of hiking, two specific circuits of 8 and 13 km linking the patrimonial and natural sites of the municipality were conceived. Information on +33 2 43 90 25 73.
Other routes that include the valley of the Erve are also possible. Maps and information on +33 2 43 53 18 18.
It should be noted, however, that if some of the caves discovered along the Saulges canyon along the Erve river are located in the territory of Saint-Pierre-sur-Erve, access and visits are from the commune of Saulges, where the Museum of Prehistory is also based (information on +33 2 43 90 51 30).
